Description

This is one of the only true splitter-ish climbs at Hartmans. Walk around the South end of Super Slab to an obvious crack that expands from tips to wide off-width. A short but intense jam-fest that will test your pain tolerance. Tape is recommended.

Location

South side of Super Slab, climb the obvious crack.

Protection

It is a short climb so the gear is minimal. Starts with a #2 TCU or C3 then takes #0.75-#4 Camalots. Maybe bring a #5 if it makes you feel good. You can sling (20ft of webbing or cord) the top of the left part of the detached pillar that makes the crack and lower to clean the route. Then have someone who is less tired scramble up the backside to recover the webbing/cord.

Gnarly on your hands for sure! (I still have scars on my hand from this one) There is a funny story about this crack in Bob Dickerson's article in the new "Gunnison Rock" by Leo Malloy. I was sitting on the ground belaying Jon Ake, who was about 15 feet up trying to get a hex in (in the late 70s). As Bob put it, "the crack spit Jon out like a watermelon seed". He landed on the ground in a sitting position right next to me, handed me the hex and in a very droll voice said "your lead". :-)

I have free solo'd this in the winter (in the cold so I wouldn't feel the pain in my hands). On MY first ascent of this gnarlfest (not the F.A.), I remember swimming through spiderwebs and other critter left-overs.

That is not the only Keating Beating that the Gunnison area had to serve up. The other was the food served by SAGA food services in the WSC campus dining dungeon, Keating Hall. Back then we referred to SAGA as the Soviet Attempt to Gag America. Of the two outings me thinks that the gnarly granite might have been the more palatable.

Certainly the "impaction" that poor Jon suffered was "in the end" minor compared to a steady diet of "dorm food".

I can remember my Freshman year at Keating ('72) there was a huge food fight (a la Animal House) prompted by little round, green, steamed meat patties. They must have been those grade DD patties you were talking about. I'm about to hurl just thinking about them 35 yrs later!